Scroll down the top 20 cryptocurrencies this morning and you'll see that nearly all are drenched in blood. There’s only one that’s standing out: Ethereum Classic. The ETC price has spiked nearly 18% in the past 24 hours.What’s more eye-popping is that the ETC to BTC exchange rate is up about 19.54%. Simply put, Ethereum Classic has strengthened in price against Bitcoin. So what’s causing this upsurge in the price? We have managed to put our finger on at least two possible factors driving the ETC price today.For starters, the upswing may have to do with the upcoming Ethereum Classic airdrop. In case you’re unaware, an “airdrop” is a distribution of free coins to existing wallets.The team of developers behind ETC is reportedly working on another project dubbed “Callisto.” Callisto is a blockchain project separate from Ethereum Classic. However, to boost its visibility, the developers will be airdropping Callisto (CLO) coins in the ratio of 1:1 to ETC holders between March 5 and March 6. That’s next month!Simply put, ETC holders will be receiving one free CLO coin for each coin they own. Who doesn’t like the sound of free coins? This may explain the price rally.We believe speculators are scrambling to get their hands on ETC ahead of the airdrop so they may receive the free coins, which, they speculate, may eventually trade for a high price.Then, another factor possibly giving a boost to prices is the upbeat comments of a famous crypto figure. This popular backer took a moment on a public forum last week to acknowledge this cryptocurrency.Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), who has long been an ardent supporter of Ethereum Classic, spoke at the Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit last week, where he gave a special shoutout to ETC.Silbert predicted that, save a handful of coins, most cryptocurrencies will crash to zero in the long run. He made a special mention of three coins which may survive. One of which was, you guessed it, Ethereum Classic.Silbert said, “In the long run, I think there’s only going to be one digital gold. I think there’s only going to be one privacy-focused token. I think there’s going to be one main smart-contract platform.” (Source: "Most Crypto Coins Are Going To Zero, Says Barry Silbert, Crypto Magnate And Rich List Member,” Fortune, February 7, 2018.)For digital gold, he chose Bitcoin. For privacy-focused tokens, he preferred ZCash. For the smart contract platform, he was bold enough to pick Ethereum Classic over its mightier counterpart, Ethereum.Barry Silbert is a crypto industry insider. His firm, DCG, has given us the largest Bitcoin fund, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC). He is also invested in 19 major cryptocurrency exchanges around the world and has also taken up stakes in crypto industry media outlets like CoinDesk. For all we know, he could be pulling the strings on prices.Regardless, in spite of Silbert’s bullishness, we share the common community-wide concern about the coin. That is, how is Ethereum Classic going to beat Ethereum at its own game?Ethereum is moving briskly in the space. It has seen immense growth in the past one year, during which it has managed to sign up more than 500 members—including bigwigs like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Samsung, and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)—to the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).At the same time, Ethereum is also upgrading its network to “Proof-of-Stake,” which will render it much faster than the older “Proof-of-Work” networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum Classic. Thus far, it remains ambiguous whether ETC has any solid gameplan against its archrival.These concerns are legitimate, which is why we are conservative in our Ethereum Classic price prediction for 2018. Unless another tidal wave moves in from the bull market lifting all boats, we remain doubtful that prices will make new highs. New investors must do their own research and tread with care.

Scroll down the top 20 cryptocurrencies this morning and you’ll see that nearly all are drenched in blood. There’s only one that’s standing out: Ethereum Classic. The ETC price has spiked nearly 18% in the past 24 hours.

What’s more eye-popping is that the ETC to BTC exchange rate is up about 19.54%. Simply put, Ethereum Classic has strengthened in price against Bitcoin. So what’s causing this upsurge in the price? We have managed to put our finger on at least two possible factors driving the ETC price today.

For starters, the upswing may have to do with the upcoming Ethereum Classic airdrop. In case you’re unaware, an “airdrop” is a distribution of free coins to existing wallets.

The team of developers behind ETC is reportedly working on another project dubbed “Callisto.” Callisto is a blockchain project separate from Ethereum Classic. However, to boost its visibility, the developers will be airdropping Callisto (CLO) coins in the ratio of 1:1 to ETC holders between March 5 and March 6. That’s next month!

Simply put, ETC holders will be receiving one free CLO coin for each coin they own. Who doesn’t like the sound of free coins? This may explain the price rally.

We believe speculators are scrambling to get their hands on ETC ahead of the airdrop so they may receive the free coins, which, they speculate, may eventually trade for a high price.

Then, another factor possibly giving a boost to prices is the upbeat comments of a famous crypto figure. This popular backer took a moment on a public forum last week to acknowledge this cryptocurrency.

Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), who has long been an ardent supporter of Ethereum Classic, spoke at the Yahoo! Finance All Markets Summit last week, where he gave a special shoutout to ETC.

Silbert predicted that, save a handful of coins, most cryptocurrencies will crash to zero in the long run. He made a special mention of three coins which may survive. One of which was, you guessed it, Ethereum Classic.

For digital gold, he chose Bitcoin. For privacy-focused tokens, he preferred ZCash. For the smart contract platform, he was bold enough to pick Ethereum Classic over its mightier counterpart, Ethereum.

Barry Silbert is a crypto industry insider. His firm, DCG, has given us the largest Bitcoin fund, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC). He is also invested in 19 major cryptocurrency exchanges around the world and has also taken up stakes in crypto industry media outlets like CoinDesk. For all we know, he could be pulling the strings on prices.

Regardless, in spite of Silbert’s bullishness, we share the common community-wide concern about the coin. That is, how is Ethereum Classic going to beat Ethereum at its own game?

Ethereum is moving briskly in the space. It has seen immense growth in the past one year, during which it has managed to sign up more than 500 members—including bigwigs like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Samsung, and JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)—to the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).

At the same time, Ethereum is also upgrading its network to “Proof-of-Stake,” which will render it much faster than the older “Proof-of-Work” networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum Classic. Thus far, it remains ambiguous whether ETC has any solid gameplan against its archrival.

These concerns are legitimate, which is why we are conservative in our Ethereum Classic price prediction for 2018. Unless another tidal wave moves in from the bull market lifting all boats, we remain doubtful that prices will make new highs. New investors must do their own research and tread with care.

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From: Michael Lombardi, MBASubject: Gold: The Stock Contrarian Investors’ Best Play of the Decade